{"id":777037220,"date":"2026-01-27T09:43:11","date_gmt":"2026-01-27T12:43:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/?p=777037220"},"modified":"2026-04-21T14:58:23","modified_gmt":"2026-04-21T17:58:23","slug":"chinabank-in-no-rush-to-sell-emerald-bay-casino-site","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/chinabank-in-no-rush-to-sell-emerald-bay-casino-site","title":{"rendered":"Chinabank in no rush to sell Emerald Bay Casino site"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The bank says it has received offers for the stalled Cebu project but will wait until it secures a price it considers acceptable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

The Philippines.- China Banking Corp (Chinabank) is in no rush to sell the land housing the stalled Emerald Bay Resort and Casino project<\/a> in Mactan, Cebu. Media reports cite the bank\u2019s chairman, Hans Sy<\/strong>, saying that the company has received offers but wants to wait for the right price.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere are offers,\u201d Sy said in an interview with GMA News. \u201cWe\u2019ll negotiate. When we get a price that we find is good, then we sell<\/strong>.\u201d He said the bank believes the value of the site will increase over time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Emerald Bay was envisioned as a US$300m integrated resort development by PH Resorts Group Holdings Inc (PHR). The project broke ground in 2017 and was originally scheduled to open in 2021, but construction stalled during the Covid-19 pandemic amid labour shortages, supply-chain disruptions and funding challenges. Work on the site never resumed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chinabank gained control of the property following a sale-and-leaseback arrangement signed in October 2023, under which PH Resorts restructured outstanding debt and retained an option to repurchase portions of the land and improvements. That repurchase option expired on March 31, 2025<\/a>, without renewal after the bank declined to extend the agreement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Last month, the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp (Pagcor) revoked Emerald Bay\u2019s provisional gaming licence<\/strong>, further diminishing the project\u2019s prospects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sy said Chinabank had given PH Resorts ample time to recover the project. \u201cWe gave them a chance because we don\u2019t want to be ruthless,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Looking ahead, Sy described 2026 as a \u201cchallenging\u201d year and said the bank would prioritise lending to small and medium-sized enterprises, which he sees as offering more stable opportunities than large, capital-intensive developments.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n\t\t\tSee also:<\/span><\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\tSee also:<\/span> PAGCOR revokes provisional licence for Emerald Bay casino project<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The bank says it has received offers for the stalled Cebu project but will wait until it secures a price it considers acceptable.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":680,"featured_media":777006346,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"is_press_release":false,"is_interview":false,"is_opinion":false,"focusai_summary":"China Banking Corp (Chinabank) is strategically holding the land for the stalled Emerald Bay Resort and Casino project in Cebu, Philippines, awaiting an optimal sale price despite receiving offers. This follows PH Resorts Group Holdings Inc's failure to exercise its repurchase option and Pagcor's revocation of the project's provisional gaming licence. Chinabank's chairman, Hans Sy, indicates a shift in lending priorities towards SMEs over large, capital-intensive developments.","focusai_entities":"China Banking Corp, Chinabank, Emerald Bay Resort and Casino, Hans Sy, GMA News, PH Resorts Group Holdings Inc, PHR, Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp, Pagcor","focusai_location":"Philippines, Mactan, Cebu","focusai_target_profile":"ceo_executive (0.95), regulator (0.9), compliance_legal (0.85), operator_casino (0.9), investor_analyst (0.95), supplier_vendor (0.75), journalist_researcher (0.9)","focusai_suggestions":[{"label":"Chinabank's Valuation Strategy?","query":"What specific valuation methodologies is Chinabank employing for the Emerald Bay land, and what market conditions or strategic buyers are they targeting to achieve their desired price point?"},{"label":"Pagcor License Impact?","query":"How will Pagcor's revocation of the provisional gaming licence for Emerald Bay influence the attractiveness of the site for potential new developers, particularly regarding the re-application process for a new gaming licence?"}],"footnotes":""},"categories":[157,16333],"tags":[25098,24804],"class_list":["post-777037220","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business-news","category-south-east-asia-news","tag-chinabank","tag-the-philippines"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/777037220","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/680"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=777037220"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/777037220\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":777037232,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/777037220\/revisions\/777037232"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/777006346"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=777037220"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=777037220"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=777037220"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}